Gamification implementation based on the business objective with case study
What is gamification?
Gamification is on the rise due to the emergence of numerous applications, thus requiring a higher standard to improve user experience and create differentiation. Compared to the previous two decades, games are more accessible for all user segments nowadays and there has been a lot of examples of successful products which include game mechanics in their business objectives.
The gamification approach can be simplified into these three items:
- The clarity of objectives
- The use of several game mechanics
- The emphasis on FUN experiences
Gamification incorporates game mechanics into non-game environment, such as websites, online communities, learning management systems, or intranet networks to increase user participation. The ultimate goal of gamification is to enhance engagement with consumers, employees, and partners to further inspire interaction, sharing and collaboration. (www.biworldwide.com/)
According to Harvard Business Review, Deloitte Leadership Academy (DLA) training program significantly improved learners’ learning experience after using the Deloitte learning site. Since the integration of gamification into Deloitte Leadership Academy, there has been a 37 percent increase in the number of users returning to the site each week. (Meister, 2013).
Another journal article attempted to answer an important research question: ‘Are gamification strategies effective in increasing engagement in online programs?’. The result is based on studies that met the inclusion criteria, conducted with a total of 10,499 participants, and that were commonly undertaken in tertiary education institutions. The resulting effects typically ranged from medium to large indirect engagement and downstream behavior, with 12 out of 15 studies discovering significant positive effects in favor of gamification with engagement. The engagement metrics that were used include duration, contribution volume , software visit numbers, as well as downstream behaviors such as performance and healthy behaviors. (Looyestyn, Kernot, Boshoff, Ryan, & Edney, 2017)
The Flow Theory combines the skill levels of users and difficulty of the challenge. (Chao, 2015). The theory describes that when the difficulty of a challenge is too great compared to a user’s skill level, the state known as flow is only achieved when the user’s skill level matches the difficulty of the challenge. With gamification, a user who interacts with an application will enter a flow channel with a game mechanic which has been designed to reach a business objective, bet it an engagement or a conversion.
How organization design gamification?
Two gamification designs, namely from Octalysis Strategy Dashboard and Gamification Design based on a Coursera Course were compared for this article (https://www.coursera.org/learn/gamification).
Designing gamification in an organization without an understanding of the business metrics, the users, and the desired actions, will be very difficult and the resulting gamified design may not fulfil its objectives. (Chao, 2015)
The table below summarizes the comparison as follows:
Based on two gamification design frameworks, a proposed framework is illustrated in the below table
1. Determine Business Objectives
Creating a list of business objectives that depend on quantifiable metrics to create a successful platform is necessary. In addition, metrics listed on the of top of the table are final metrics which would potentially lead to a successful project.
2. Determine Target Users
Defining target users to be the players in the gamification design system is subsequently required.
3. Define Feedback Mechanics & Activity Loops
Feedback Mechanics are information delivery mechanisms that communicate to users that their actions are meaningful. Subsequently, the activity loop attempts to hook users to commit to the actions.
4. Measure Business Objectives
Lastly, measuring business objective after users’ activities have been implemented needs to carried out.
Study Case
A personal analysis on the application of gamification at Shopee is presented below.
1. Shopee
Shoppe Tanam
1. Determine Business Objectives
Shopee Tanam aims to retain and acquire users simultaneously. Users may interact with other users using social media tools which inform other users if they gain a certain object such as rice, drinks, meals etc.
2. Determine Target Users
Shoppe Users who wish to receive cashback or certain prizes are the targeted users of the analysis.
3. Define Feedback Mechanics & Activity Loops
The concept of the game include the requirement for the plants to be watered and ,as such, water is required. Every 4 minutes, a user is provided with 1 drop of water. To determine how many drops of water is needed, the display screen would display the information. The more often the plants are watered, the faster the grow and bear fruit. Consequently, to obtain 40 drops of water, a waiting period of 40 x 4 minutes = 160 minutes (2 hours 40 minutes) is required.
4. Measure
It is apparent that businesses aim to retain and acquire users at the same time and the goal can be achieved by players who desire to play the game until obtaining certain prizes or cashback. The resulting frequent visits by users to the application impacted several metrics such as:
- Returning Visitors
- Average Time Spent in Apps
- New Users who played Shopee Tanam for the first time
- App Ratings which mention Shopee Tanam
The long-term impact of such exercise is users who are more loyal to Shopee.
Disclaimer:
This post does not represent my current organization’s view and the view of organizations mentioned in this post. This is purely personal thoughts and ideation to explore gamification topic further.
References
Chao, Y.-K. (2015). Actionable Gamification Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards.
Meister, J. C. (2013). How Deloitte Made Learning a Game. Retrieved from Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2013/01/how-deloitte-made-learning-a-g
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. New York: HarperCollins.
